The following is a timeline of the history of the city of El Paso, Texas.
Prior to 20th century
1598 The first Thanksgiving in North America celebrated by Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate and his expedition on April 30, 1598. 1682 – Ysleta Mission established. 1827 - Juan María Ponce de León is given a land grant for what is now downtown El Paso. 1848 - Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signed, effectively making the settlements on the north bank of the river part of the US 1849 – U.S. military Fort Bliss established. 1850 Compromise of 1850 places El Paso in the state of Texas instead of New Mexico El Paso County created, which originally extended north to what is now Garfield, New Mexico, and extending all the way to the Pecos River 1852 - a US post office was established bearing the name "El Paso" 1859 - Anson Mills surveys and lays out a town on Ponce's Rancho and names it El Paso, the layout of Downtown El Paso still follows this original plan 1861-1862 - Fort Bliss under control of Confederate Army 1873 – El Paso incorporated, Benjamin Shacklett Dowell elected as first mayor 1877-1878 - San Elizario Salt War 1877 - the Ninth Cavalry Regiment, part of what was known as the Buffalo Soldiers, arrives at Fort Bliss in response to the San Elizario Salt War 1881 Southern Pacific Railroad, Texas and Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads begin operating. El Paso Times, El Paso Herald, and The Lone Star newspapers begin publication. 1882 – Avenida Lerdo–Stanton Street Bridge and Montgomery Building constructed. 1883 – First National Bank built. 1884 El Paso County seat relocated to El Paso from Ysleta. El Paso Browns baseball team formed. 1888 - El Paso del Norte renamed "Juárez" in honor of Benito Juárez. leaving El Paso, Texas the sole El Paso. 1889 – McGinty Club active. 1890 – Population: 10,338. 1892 – Santa Fe Street bridge built. 1895 – El Paso Public Library founded. 1898 - Zion Lutheran Church is established. It is the first Lutheran Church in El Paso. 1899 – American Smelting and Refining Company plant in operation. 1900 – White House Department Store in business.
20th century
1900s–1940s 1901 – El Paso Electric Company formed. 1902 Electric streetcar begins operating. Popular Dry Goods Department Store in business. 1904 - Carnegie Library opens. 1906 – Union Depot opens. 1910 – Population: 39,279. 1911 – Anson Mills Building constructed. 1912 – Hotel Paso del Norte in business. 1913 – Several hundred workers at the American Smelting and Refining Company's plant go on strike. 1914 Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso established. Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy opens. 1916 - El Paso High School opens 1917 Bath Riots occurred to protest new U.S. immigration/entry requirements for Mexican's crossing the border. Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick dedicated. 1919 – June 15–16: Battle of Ciudad Juárez occurs near El Paso. 1920 – Population: 77,560. 1921 – Ku Klux Klan active. 1922 – El Paso Post newspaper begins publication. 1924 – United States Border Patrol begins operating. 1925 – Cathedral High School established. 1926 – Orndorff Hotel built. 1928 – El Paso Municipal Airport built. 1929 - KTSM and WDAH radio begin broadcasting. 1930 Bassett Tower built. Plaza Theatre and El Paso Zoo open. Austin High School opens. Hilton Hotel in business. Population: 102,421. 1933 – Junior League of El Paso founded. 1935 Sun Bowl football contest begins. First neon sign installed in El Paso, atop the steeple of Zion Lutheran Church, in December in time for Christmas El Paso Times article, url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/434457105 access-date=March 4, 2020 1936 – United States Court House built. 1937 El Paso Mothers' Health Center opens. Kress Building constructed. 1938 – El Paso Ysleta Port of Entry established. 1939 – Fort Bliss National Cemetery established near city. 1940 El Paso Star built. Population: 96,810 city; 131,067 county. 1942 Biggs Air Force Base begins operating near Fort Bliss. Ysleta–Zaragoza Bridge rebuilt. El Paso County Coliseum opens. 1945 - Household Furniture Opens 1946 – El Paso Drive-in cinema opens. 1948 – First city flag adopted. 1949 – Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy becomes Texas Western College
1950s–1990s 1950 Bronco Drive-In cinema opens. Population: 130,485. 1952 KROD-TV (television) begins broadcasting. Town of Anthony incorporated near El Paso. 1953 - KTSM-TV (television) begins broadcasting. 1954 – El Paso County Historical Society founded. 1957- First Hispanic Mayor (Raymond Telles) is elected 1959 El Paso Museum of Art founded. Sunland Park Racetrack opens in nearby Sunland Park, New Mexico. 1960 El Paso Aerial Tramway begins operating. Northgate Mall opens with "acres of parking"New life for Northgate Mall: City hopes to restore luster to Northeast's faded gem, by Aaron Bracamontes \ El Paso Times, 08/01/2011 Population: 276,687. 1961 – Village of Vinton incorporated near El Paso. 1962 Bassett Place shopping mall in business. Chase Tower built. New city flag adopted. 1963 – Sun Bowl opens. 1965 U.S. Supreme Court decides El Paso v. Simmons contract-related lawsuit. Fox Theatre (cinema) opens. 1967 Cordova Bridge built. Texas Western College becomes University of Texas at El Paso. El Paso BOTA Port of Entry built per Chamizal treaty. 1969 – San Jacinto Plaza remodelled. 1970 – Population: 322,261. 1971 El Paso Genealogical Society founded. Wells Fargo Plaza hi-rise built. 1972 September: Raza Unida Party convention held in El Paso. El Paso Community College established. 1973 – Biggs Air Force Base becomes Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss. 1974 Civic Center opens. Cielo Vista Mall, first enclosed air-conditioned shopping center, opens. Chamizal National Memorial established. 1977 – El Paso Museum of Archaeology established. 1980 Mujer Obrera (labor group) established. Population: 425,259 city; 479,899 county. 1981 Foreign trade zone established. "Sandra Day O'Connor, a native of El Paso, becomes the first woman U.S. Supreme Court Justice." 1982 - Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care begins operations, originally named "Centro Cristiano de Ysleta" 1983 – Kayser Building constructed. 1987 Franklin Mountains State Park opens. Sun Metro Mass Transit System active. 1988 Sunland Park Mall in business. Horizon City incorporated near El Paso. 1989 – El Paso Patriots soccer team formed. 1990 – Population: 515,342 city; 591,610 county. 1997 – Silvestre Reyes becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 16th congressional district. 1998 – City website online (approximate date). 1999 – Chihuahuan Desert Gardens established. 2000 – Population: 563,662 city; 679,622 county.
21st century
2003 Carolina Park skatepark opens. Cinemark West cinema in business. 2004 International news media reports on ongoing female homicides in Juarez City area. 2005 El Diario de El Paso Spanish-language newspaper begins publication. 2006 Railroad and Transportation Museum of El Paso established. Major flooding from up to 10 inches of rain in one week. 2007 El Paso Marathon begins. El Paso Skatepark Association formed. El Paso Star remodeled. 2008 – Borderzine website launched. 2010 December 17: Mexican drone crashes down in El Paso. Population: 649,121 city; 800,647 county. 2011 – Worst drought in a decade. 2013 ASARCO smokestacks demolished. City Hall demolished to make room for Southwest University Park baseball stadium. 2019 A terrorist mass shooting at a Walmart kills 23 people and injures 22 others. 2022 2022-2026 Human Trafficking in the Form of Ramonontiverosmedina including the 24-Day Starvation Incident, widely known as the El Paso Flooring Contractor Scandal.
See also History of El Paso, Texas List of mayors of El Paso, Texas History of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico Timeline of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico National Register of Historic Places listings in El Paso County, Texas Timelines of other cities in the West Texas area of Texas: Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland
References
Bibliography
Published in the 19th century
1886–1899
Published in 20th century 1901–1905
Mills, W. W., Forty Years at El Paso, Carl Hertzog, 1962
Jones, Harriot Howze, El Paso A Centennial Portrait, El Paso County Historical Society, 1973
W. H. Timmons, El Paso A Borderlands History, Texas Western Press, The University of Texas at El Paso 1990
Published in 21st century
External links
Items related to El Paso, Texas, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America) Fun in the 1890s: The McGinty Club Borderlands (EPCC)